Seacoast aerospace initiative takes off

PORTSMOUTH — The Seacoast is emerging as the state's composites manufacturing region for aerospace and defense business growth.

Suzanne Laurent

PORTSMOUTH — The Seacoast is emerging as the state's composites manufacturing region for aerospace and defense business growth.

Portsmouth Mayor Robert Lister, joined by mayors from three other cities on the Seacoast, signed a letter during a ceremony Monday that will be sent to Canadian manufacturers and suppliers in greater Montreal, where 98 percent of Quebec's aerospace activity is concentrated.

The letter invites Montreal manufacturing company owners to visit the Seacoast to talk about opportunities for partnership and collaboration in the aerospace industry.

Jeffrey Rose, commissioner of the state Department of Resources and Economic Development, introduced Gov. Maggie Hassan at the Seacoast Aerospace Initiative press event held at Two International Group on the Pease International Tradeport.

“This is a region that has a deep history in the tradition of aerospace and defense,” Rose said. “This is because of the steady leadership in our state, and we have a real champion in Gov. Hassan.”

Hassan made an analogy to the current Boston-Montreal hockey playoff series.

“When you watch the Canadiens and the Bruins play, you see two teams playing extraordinarily hard with great, great skill. So I think it speaks very well of the partnership we are celebrating today.”

“Sometimes we win; sometimes we lose,” she continued in good humor. “But we always come back, right? And we fight just as hard the next time.”

Hassan said it was time to strengthen the middle class with initiatives such as the one on the table Monday.

“Our unemployment rate is now nearly two points lower than the national average,” she said.

Hassan recognized that the educational community on the Seacoast is aligned with modern and innovative businesses.

In May 2011 Great Bay Community College opened its Advanced Technology & Academic Center in Rochester to fit the needs of area manufacturer Albany Engineered Composites and French-owned Safran Aerospace Composites.

“We also boast a tax friendly environment here in New Hampshire and a responsive state government,” Hassan said.

She said the initiative would also help the state to boost international trade.

“Last December, the New Hampshire Defense Aerospace and Defense Consortium signed an agreement in Montreal,” she said. “Today we are building on that already strong relationship with our neighbors to the north.”

Joseph Morone, the chief executive officer of Albany International, said the company has 4,500 employees in 11 countries.

Albany Engineered Composites makes lightweight composite parts that are used on aircraft for better fuel efficiency.

“In 2010, our new tiny business in Rochester was selected by Safran after a decade of research as the sole supplier for advanced composites on what will be the fastest growing program,” Morone said.

AEC is making fan blades and fan cases that replacing titanium blades and aluminum cases with the new composites that will save 1,000 pounds per plane.

“About 45 to 50 percent of all aircraft built from 2016 to 2030 will have parts built in Rochester or our sister plant in France,” Morone said.

He added that Albany International decided to build the AEC plant in Rochester for three reasons.

“We had the collaborative partnership of Rochester, the state and the federal government,” he said.

The second reason was that the community college system saw the need for 400 to 500 workers and introduced a program in Rochester to train those employees.

“This is really a model for the country and around the world,” Morone said. “Lastly, never underestimate the quality of life that this state has.”

Thierry Weissenburger, consul and senior trade commissioner of the consulate general of Canada in Boston, then offered a follow-up to Hassan's hockey analogy.

“We are not here to win against each other but to build a global and powerful cluster,” he said. “We have a large relationship with New Hampshire with almost $10 billion worth of trade with New Hampshire every year. We want to now create an aerospace corridor.”

Weissenburger said he recently read that the entire Boeing fleet needs to be renewed with lighter materials.

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